Dyson Business Minor for Life Sciences Majors

The Dyson business minor for life sciences majors prepares you for a successful career at the intersection of science and business. The minor’s curriculum focuses on basic business fundamentals and courses that complement life science topics. You’ll learn not only about entrepreneurship, marketing, management, finance, and economics, but also how these subjects are applied to life sciences career paths.

This minor is popular among pre-med, pre-dental, and pre-vet students. The coursework provides a grounding in business principles that can help you understand the economic environment in which you’ll eventually practice.

The Dyson business minor for life sciences majors was established by way of a generous gift from Dr. Jonathan Levine ’76 and Stacey Levine and Dr. David Levine ’88 and Davena Levine ’88.

Who’s eligible for the Dyson business minor for life sciences majors?

Select majors in the colleges of Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Human Ecology, and Agriculture and Life Sciences (see full list below)

How many credits are required?

15 credits (9 must have the AEM course code) across areas such as financial accounting, management, marketing, and more

I’m interested. What’s next?

After reviewing the requirements below and our FAQ and policies page, you can begin the process using the Business Minors Dashboard.

Current students:

Eligible life sciences majors

The Dyson business minor for life sciences majors is open to students majoring in certain life sciences subjects within Cornell’s colleges listed below.

All life sciences majors in CALS are eligible for the Dyson business minor for life sciences majors. These include:

Agricultural Sciences

Animal Science

Atmospheric Science

Biological Engineering

Biological Sciences

Biology and Society

Biometry and Statistics

Developmental Sociology

Entomology

Environmental and Sustainability Sciences

Food Science

Global and Public Health Sciences

Interdisciplinary Studies

International Agriculture and Rural Development

Natural Resources

Nutritional Sciences

Plant Sciences

Science of Earth Systems

Science of Natural and Environmental Systems

Viticulture and Enology

The following biology majors are eligible for the Dyson business minor for life sciences majors:

Biology and society

Biological sciences

The Dyson business minor for life science majors is only open to biological engineering majors in the College of Engineering.

The following majors in HUMEC are eligible for the Dyson business minor for life sciences majors:

Design and Environmental Analysis

Global and Public Health Sciences

Human Biology, Health, and Society

Human Development

Nutritional Sciences

Business minor for life sciences majors prerequisites

This Dyson business minor requires 3 credits in either introductory microeconomics or macroeconomics before taking the minor’s core courses.

If you do not take a macroeconomics course listed under option 2, one of the following courses is required as a prerequisite for the Dyson business minor for life sciences majors:

AEM 1500

Intro to Economics of Environmental and Natural Resources

ECON 1110

Introductory Microeconomics

ECON 3030

Intermediate Microeconomic Theory

HADM 1410

Microeconomics for the Service Industry

PAM 2000

Intermediate Microeconomics

If you do not take a microeconomics course listed under option 1, one of the following courses is required as a prerequisite for the Dyson business minor for life sciences majors:

ECON 1120

Introductory Macroeconomics

ECON 3040

Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory

Business minor for life sciences majors core course requirements

The minor’s core requirements (12 credits) must be fulfilled by taking courses in the three areas listed below. Please note that 9 credits MUST come from AEM courses. In order to satisfy this AEM requirement, you may end up taking more than 12 credits as you complete the minor’s core.

All core courses must be completed with a grade of C or better. If a core requirement is taken online, it must be a Cornell University online course in order to count toward the minor. Only one core course from outside Cornell University may be applied toward the minor, and it must be submitted for approval prior to taking the course.

One of the following courses is required:

AEM 2210

Financial Accounting

HADM 2230

Financial Accounting Principles

NCC 5500

Financial Accounting

One of the following courses is required:

AEM 1200

Introduction to Business Management

AEM 2400

Marketing

HADM 2410

Marketing Principles

ILRID 1700

Intro to Organizations and Management

NCC 5530

Marketing Management

Dyson business minors who are life sciences majors are required to take at least 6 credits from the following list of courses. Depending on your post-graduation plans, you might consider taking your 6 credits within the categories below.

Note: To meet this requirement, only 3 of the 6 credits may be from 1000- and 2000-level courses.

Entrepreneurship

AEM 1220

Entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences: Past, Present, and Future

AEM 2220

Foundational Perspectives and Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship

AEM 3110

Design and Innovation

AEM 3249

Entrepreneurial Marketing and Strategy

AEM 3250

Business Planning Process for New Ventures

AEM 3251

The Business Laboratory and New Venture Management

AEM 3380

Social Entrepreneurs, Innovators, and Problem Solvers

AEM 3385

Social Entrepreneurship Practicum: Anabel’s Grocery

AEM 4380

Entrepreneurial Strategy for Technology Ventures

AEM 4390

Technology Strategy

Life sciences business and human/veterinary medicine

AEM 1600

The Business of Modern Medicine

AEM 2300
ECON 2300

International Trade and Finance

AEM 4485

Economics of Food and Malnutrition

BME 5950

Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering

ECON 3720
PAM 3270

The Economics of Health Care Markets

HE 4060

Fieldwork in Diversity and Professional Practice: The Culture of Medicine and Public Health

HE 4080

Fieldwork in Diversity and Professional Practice: Community and Public Service

HE 4090

Fieldwork in Diversity and Professional Practice: Finance, Business, Law and Other Settings

NBA 5070

Entrepreneurship for Scientists and Engineers

PAM 2350

The U.S. Health Care System

PAM 3100

Pharmaceutical Management and Policy

PAM 3280
DSOC 3280

Fundamentals of Population Health

PAM 3670

Economics and Environmental Policy

PAM 3780

Comparing Health Care Systems Around the World

PAM 3870
PAM 5870

Economic Evaluations in Health Care Markets

PAM 4370
ECON 3720

The Economics of Health Care Markets

PAM 5630

Health Care Financial Management

Management, marketing, accounting, and finance

AEM 2000

Contemporary Controversies in the Global Economy

AEM 2050

Introduction to Agricultural and Development Finance

AEM 2241

Finance

AEM 3020

Farm Business Management

AEM 3120

Branding and Brand Management

AEM 3230

Managerial Accounting

AEM 3260

Cooperative Business Management (formerly AEM 2230)

AEM 4610

Business Processes, Analytics and Enterprise Systems

AEM 4615

Digital Platform Strategy

HADM 2250

Finance

ILROB 6260

Managing Diversity: Policies and Practices

NBA 6720

Family and Privately Held Firms: Financial and Managerial Perspectives

NCC 5540

Managing and Leading in Organizations

NCC 5560

Managerial Finance

Tools and frameworks for entrepreneurs and practitioners

AEM 2011

Spreadsheet Modeling for Management and Economics

AEM 3080

Ethical Issues in Business Management and Organizations

AEM 3310

An Introduction to Business Regulation

AEM 4190

Strategic Thinking

AEM 4580

The Economics and Psychology of Sustainable Business

Featured Faculty: Meet Robert Karpman

Robert Karpman, a professor of practice and the faculty director of the Dyson business minor for life sciences majors, works comfortably at the intersection of business and healthcare having earned both an MD and MBA. Karpman has experience as an entrepreneur and orthopedic surgeon, and he’s served as the chief medical officer of two community hospitals.